In this March 4, 2013 photo made available by NASA, European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano participates in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) of the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Italian astronaut who nearly drowned during a spacewalk in July 2013 is sharing more details about the experience. Parmitano wrote in his online blog, posted Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 that he felt all alone as water filled his helmet outside the International Space Station. (AP Photo/NASA, Lauren Harnett)

On Tuesday, International Space Station astronauts turned on the suit that leaked water last month and almost led to the first-ever drowning in orbit. This time, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano was safely outside his suit. It's a good thing: Big jiggly blobs of water sloshed around inside the empty helmet during the test, just as it did on his July 16 spacewalk.

NASA says it's good the problem reappeared. That should make it easier for engineers to determine the cause. The astronauts will remove suspect pieces and, possibly, return them on the next three-man Soyuz spacecraft bound for Earth next month.

Engineers are zeroing in on the backpack that contains life-support equipment, including water for suit cooling.

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